Half the World
by UnalignedSuccubus
Summary: High School AU. Based on a prompt I got after the cheerleading episode. Bo is a transfer student who wants to join the cheerleading squad and Tamsin is on the football team. All Lost Girl favourite characters are in here. I really suck at summaries, read the A/N on the first chapter for more.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: I was planning to update one of my many other stories, yes I know there are a lot of them that need updating, but for some reason I'm not in a very angsty mood right now, and I need to be in that frame of mine for the other fics to work. So I decided to get on with the AU someone asked me to write a while ago. The prompt was 'high school, Bo is a cheerleader and Tamsin is on the football team', it came after the cheerleading episode of season 5 (surprise, surprise). Anyway, this has been kicking around in my head for a while, the updates might be slow in coming, but I'll get there. So here we go. Remember it's an AU, the characters might not be exactly as they are in the show, but we'll see how we go… Read, review and (hopefully) enjoy!_**

Chapter One

The first day at a new school was always something that people seemed to dread, but not Bo Dennis. Her mom got a new job, so in the middle of the semester they upped and moved half way across the country, Bo loved the adventure and she was looking forward to starting her new school, and hopefully making new friends. At her old school she was pretty popular, she was on the cheerleading squad, dating the quarter back for a while, everything had been great. She hoped that she would fit in pretty quickly, her mom was sure she would, Bo just seemed to draw people to her.

As a gift to celebrate her first day at her new school Bo's mom Aife had bought her a new car, a battered yellow mustang, most girls would hate it, but Bo loved it. Pulling up in the parking lot at the school that morning she noticed a lot of people looking, as she got out of the car she wasn't sure if they were looking at the car or at her. The first task of her day was to report to get her timetable, so she went to the reception area. While she was waiting she noticed a blonde girl sitting there, her head in a book. From the looks of it, as far as Bo could tell, it looked like a science book.

"Interesting book?" Bo asked, as she moved and sat closer to the girl.

The blonde girl in question looked up at her and nearly dropped her book, obviously surprised that someone was actually talking to her.

"Sorry…" Bo said with a little laugh, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," the girl said with a nervous smile, "it's er… it's a science book."

Bo looked over at the book and couldn't understand 90% of what she read from one page.

"Quantum physics?" she asked, "if that's what you guys are doing in science then I'm totally screwed."

The girl laughed.

"This isn't what we're studying," she replied, "this is more… light reading…"

"That's light reading?" Bo asked, "Let me guess, you want to be a scientist."

"Doctor, actually…" the girl replied with a little smile, "I want to help people…"

"Sounds like you've got it all planned out…" Bo said, "I'm Bo."

"Lauren." The girl said, "First day?"

"Yep," Bo said with a smile, "I'm just waiting to get my timetable, maybe we'll have a couple of classes together."

Lauren smiled a little.

"If you want to be popular here, you probably should stay away from people like me," Lauren said, "even the nerds won't let me sit at their table at lunch."

Bo couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her.

"I don't tend to listen to people who tell me I can't be friends with who I want to be friends with," she said, "I kind of follow my own path in that sense. I'd rather just be friends with everyone, unless they are a-holes."

At that moment the door to the principal's office opened and a Goth girl walked out.

"In the future Ms Malikov I would appreciate it if you didn't set off the fire extinguishers in the gym, the morning before a big basketball game." Mr Fitzpatrick said.

"How was I to know that the foam makes the floor sticky," the girl said, "maybe they'll play better."

Bo again laughed, the girl who had just walked out of the principal's office looked at her. The first thing Bo noticed was that the girl had amazing blue eyes, her dark hair really made them pop. She slowly walked over to where Bo was sitting with Lauren.

"Hey brains," she said, "who's your new friend?"

"This is… this…" Lauren stuttered.

"Bo." Bo said, standing up and holding out her hand.

"Kenzi," The girl replied, shaking Bo's hand, "welcome to the hell hole."

x-x-x

Lauren was asked to show Bo around, from what the other girl told Bo it seemed to be a regular thing when a new person started. Apparently the principle thought it was the safest option, it may encourage the new students to study and stay out of trouble. They arrived at Bo's first class of the day, English, a class that Lauren also was in. As they walked in Lauren took her seat quietly and Bo handed the note to the teacher. He read it before standing at the front of the class.

"We have a new student joining us today," he said, as Bo felt all eyes on her, "this is Ysabeau Dennis, why don't you tell us about yourself Ysabeau."

"Well firstly it's just Bo," Bo said, "I just moved here with my mom, I moved from a small-ish town, so living in a city is exciting… that's pretty much all I can think of."

"Welcome Bo," the teacher said, "there's an empty table at the back there, take a seat…"

As the teacher started the lesson Bo made her way to the back of the room, as she sat down the guy sitting in front of her turned around.

"I'm Dyson," he said, "you into sports?"

"I was on the cheerleading squad at my old school," Bo said, "so yeah, I enjoy sports."

"You should stop by the gym later, we have a ball game." He said.

"Stop by and watch them lose, again." The girl in the seat next to Bo's said.

Bo looked at her, the girl had her feet on her desk. The first thing Bo noticed was the girl's eyes, they were ice green, and she'd never seen eyes like them.

"We're actually in with a shot of winning tonight's game." Dyson said.

"Sure you are stud," the girl said, "keep telling yourself that."

"You not a fan of the basketball team?" Bo asked.

"I tend not to associate with losers…" The girl replied, still not looking at Bo.

"You tend not to associate with anyone, Tamsin." Dyson said, "Except that little Goth girl… what's her name…"

"Kenzi…" Bo said, assuming that he was talking about the girl she had met earlier.

"School full of losers," Tamsin said, "obviously."

"If you hate it so much why do you still come?" Dyson asked.

"You know why…" Tamsin replied.

"Oh yeah, you need the college scholarship," he said with a nod, "dead end parents, no jobs… football is all you've got, right Tamsin?"

Bo watched as the girl stood up, grabbed her bag and walked out without saying a word to the teacher.

"Mr Thornwood, care to explain why Tamsin just made an unexpected exit?" the teacher asked.

"No idea Sir." Dyson replied.

Bo was still looking at the door that Tamsin had just left out of. At most High Schools the football team and basketball team didn't usually get on, but this felt a little more personal that a spat about which team was doing better. She made a mental note to ask Lauren about it when class ended.

x-x-x

"What's between Dyson and Tamsin?" Bo asked as they were walking to their next class, "in class he mentioned that I should watch the basketball game later, Tamsin said they were going to lose…"

"They have lost every game this year," Lauren replied, "and last year… the team set up is all wrong, it's not a scientifically viable layout it's…"

Bo had stopped, a little confused by what Lauren was saying. The blonde girl stopped and looked back at her, a nervous smile on her face.

"I'm sorry," Lauren said, "I tend to start to… ramble on…"

"I just don't know how you can apply science to a basketball team…" Bo said with a laugh.

"It's about the order of the players, based on height and weight…" Lauren said, "If they had the taller, bigger players at the back, in defence, the smaller lighter players in the centre and then the taller lighter players in the forward attacking positions it would be a more viable set-up… and now you know why I have no friends."

Bo laughed a little as she walked back up to Lauren.

"I think it's cute," she said, "so the basketball team are losing, a lot, and I guess the football team are winning?"

"State champions last year," Lauren said, "which obviously causes issues with the teams. But that isn't Dyson's only problem with Tamsin… they are from completely different ends of the spectrum. Dyson's parents are rich, his father is lawyer, his mother a doctor, he has his college already lined up and doesn't have to worry about fees… Tamsin on the other hand…her parents are…the only chance she has to go to college is scholarship, and Dyson seems to like reminding her of that."

"I didn't think girls got scholarships for football…" Bo said.

"They don't usually…" Lauren replied as they continued walking, "there are a couple of good colleges with girls' teams… it's a long shot, but it's the only shot she's got."

x-x-x

Bo was driving home from school when she saw Tamsin walking alone. She pulled her car over and wound down the window.

"Hey, Tamsin," she called, "wanna lift?"

"I thought you'd be watching the game…" the blonde said as she walked over to the car.

"I watched some of it," Bo replied, "but they were down 26-0 in the first quarter, something tells me it's going to be a long game."

The blonde laughed.

"26-0…" she said, still laughing, "It's a good job none of them are looking for scholarships…"

"So…" Bo said, "Do you want a lift?"

"No thanks," Tamsin replied, "I enjoy the walk…"

"Okay," Bo said with a smile, "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Probably," Tamsin said as she slowly walked away from the car, "I mean we both go there, chances are we'll cross paths again at some point."

Bo smiled to herself as she watched Tamsin walk down the street, there was something different about the blonde, something that intrigued Bo. The brunette made a mental note to find out where the next football game was, she would ask someone tomorrow, after her cheerleading try-out.

_A/N: I'm aware that Bo drives a Camaro, it's AU..._


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Okay, here we go. This very nearly didn't happen, stupid brain wanting me to write The 100. But here we are, on with this little AU. I'll be updating the others soon, I have a bit of free time right now so as long as I don't go binge watching anymore shows we should be good. Thanks for the reviews and stuff so far. Remember to let me know what you're thinking about it, my muse is an asshole. Read, review and enjoy!_**

Chapter Two.

After her cheerleading try-out Bo was heading back to her locker to grab her books for the afternoon's lessons, she passed her English room on her way, the door was open a little.

"I know how complicated your life is Tamsin, I know how much extra responsibility you have," the teacher said, "but you're failing this class. There's no nice way to put it. I know you're aiming for a scholarship, and I wish you all the best with that, but you also need the academic grades to back it up."

"Academic grades aren't exactly my strong point…" Tamsin replied.

"I can assign you some extra work, get those credits up." He said.

"And just when do you expect me to have the time to do that work?" Tamsin asked, "Between my second and third jobs, or maybe at midnight when I finally get home?"

"Like I said, I know how hard it is for you…" the teacher replied.

"No you don't," Tamsin said, "none of you do…I guess I can add this class to the list of the others that I'm failing, which is… all of them."

"Maybe you could get some extra tuition, someone to help…" the teacher said.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you just need to accept what every other teacher already has," Tamsin said, "I'm a lost cause. Extra tuition costs money, money I don't have."

Bo heard Tamsin moving towards the door, so she decided to make herself scarce, walking towards her locker. She turned back to face the classroom as Tamsin closed the door with a little too much force, causing Bo to jump.

"Hey…" she said, as the blonde looked at her.

"Hi…" Tamsin replied.

"Did you catch the final score from last nights' game?" Bo asked, trying to make the conversation seem as natural as possible, "it ended 109-33."

"Well at least they actually got some points on the board." Tamsin said with a little shrug, "it's an improvement."

At that moment Kenzi walked down the hall towards them.

"So what's the verdict T?" she asked.

"Nothing to worry about," Tamsin replied with a smirk, "He just wanted to talk me through an assignment."

"Well that's one thing less to worry about, right." Kenzi replied.

"Sure…" Tamsin said.

"Now let's go and eat." Kenzi said with a smile.

As Bo watched Tamsin and Kenzi walk away she had a thought. If Tamsin needed extra tuition she knew the perfect person for that. Lauren. She had to be the smartest kid at the school, Bo figured she was probably smarter than some of the teachers. Bo grabbed her books out of her locker and headed off to find the blonde.

x-x-x

"There you are," Bo said, finding Lauren sitting on the grass eating her lunch, "can I sit?"

"If you want to be outcast for the rest of your existence, sure." Lauren replied.

Bo laughed a little as she sat down.

"I already told you, I don't care what anyone else thinks." She said.

"You should, now that you're on the squad," Lauren said, "it's important that you're seen to be associating with the right kind of people."

"Let me worry about that," Bo said, "I have an important question, do you do tuition?"

"You can't be failing already, you've only been here a day." Lauren said with a laugh.

"It's not me that needs it," Bo said, "my grades are always pretty stable around the pass mark… Tamsin is failing English."

"She's failing everything," Lauren replied, "she doesn't have the time to study… she's… well it's not my place, but she's got a pretty hectic life."

"I kinda figured that," Bo said, "I heard her talking to our English teacher, she mentioned that she has three jobs and doesn't get home till midnight."

"On a good day," Lauren said with a sigh, "Bo, I… I use the money I get for extra tuition to put towards my college fund… I…"

"I'll pay," Bo replied, "don't worry about that."

"She isn't going to accept the extra tuition, trust me," the blonde said, "I may not know that much about her, but I do know that she's too proud to let anyone know that she's struggling."

"What if someone else was also getting extra tuition…?" Bo said.

Lauren smiled a little.

"You're going to make her think that you need it as well," she said, "that way she's more likely to take it… why do you care so much Bo?"

"I don't know," Bo said with a laugh, "I just… under that tough outer shell there's something else, and I want to find out what."

"Okay," Lauren said, "I'll do it."

"Thank you," Bo said with a smile, "now I just have to figure out a way to get her there…"

x-x-x

Later that day, after school, there was a football practice. Bo joined some of the other girls in the bleachers watching the practice. She couldn't see Tamsin anywhere.

"Where's Tamsin?" She asked one of the other girls.

"She'll be here," Sophie said, "probably just sorting out something for her kid sister."

"She has a sister?" Bo asked.

"Yeah," Sophie replied, "from what we can all figure out she's like her sole carer or something, her parents are…"

"They're a waste of space," Tiffany interrupted, "drinking all the time, not working, never looking after their kids…"

Bo decided that she was going to try and find Tamsin, so she headed back towards the changing rooms. She saw Tamsin talking to a young girl, she must have been no older than 13.

"Take this," Tamsin said, handing the girl some money, "get something to eat, then go to the library. Do your homework."

"That's your bus money." The girl said, "You'll be late for work, again. Jeff said he'd fire you if you were late again."

"I'll figure something out," Tamsin replied, "just take it, please."

Kenzi stepped into Bo's line of sight.

"Eavesdropping, not good." She said.

"I was just…" Bo started to say, stopping herself with a sigh, "she wasn't at practice, I was curious…"

"Well now you know," Kenzi replied, "so turn your cute little butt around and go and join the rest of the popular crew…"

"Kenzi," Bo said, "you've got me all wrong…"

"No I haven't," the little Goth replied, "brains told me what you're trying to do, she'll never go for it."

"I need the tuition, I just figured that as we're struggling with the same classes…" Bo said.

"Tomorrow, she doesn't have work after class," Kenzi said, "it's one of her only nights off. She'll be at the library with the kid. Be there at 6…"

Bo watched over Kenzi's shoulder as Tamsin's sister left, the taller blonde walking over to them.

"You decided that you'll go for one of the football guys as the basketball team suck?" Tamsin asked Bo as she walked up next to Kenzi.

"I just thought I'd stop by and see what was so special about the football team." Bo replied.

"You're looking at it." Tamsin said with a smirk before she headed off to the field.

"6, tomorrow night," Kenzi said, "you get one shot at this new girl, don't screw it up."

"How is she getting to work tonight?" Bo asked, "She just gave her sister the last of her money."

"Do you have this thing where you have to save everyone?" Kenzi asked, "Is that like your thing?"

"I just want to help…" Bo replied.

"Some people don't want help," Kenzi said, "People like Tamsin, and me… we do things our way. People don't help people like us unless they want something in return. What's your angle?"

"I don't have an angle…" Bo said.

"Guess we'll find that out." Kenzi said, before turning and walking away.

Bo made her way back to where the other cheerleaders were sitting. They were all talking about the guys on the field, Bo couldn't take her eyes off Tamsin. The blonde seemed like all the cares and worries she had just disappeared, it was like she was free. At that moment Bo had a little insight into the world of the blonde, when she was out on the field nothing else mattered, all that mattered was getting the ball over the line.

x-x-x

Sitting in the car park she waited. She had no idea why she was waiting, the chances of Tamsin letting her give her lift were slim, she knew that, didn't mean she wasn't going to try. As the blonde walked from the school building Bo got out of the car.

"Tamsin!" she shouted.

"Can this wait," Tamsin asked as she walked over to her, "I have somewhere to be…"

"Get in." Bo said, motioning to the car.

"Listen…" Tamsin said, "I don't know what your deal is, why you seem to be so desperate to get me into your car…"

"I want to give you a lift," Bo said, "nothing more…"

"I don't need your help Bo." Tamsin replied coldly.

"Then be late for work," Bo said, "lose your job, fail at something else."

Tamsin clenched her jaw as she looked at the brunette in front of her, Bo was sure she was about to get punched as Tamsin stepped closer to her.

"You don't know me…" Tamsin said, "You know nothing about my life."

"I know you have three jobs," Bo said, "I know you gave your sister your bus money so she could get something to eat…I just want to give you a lift to work, Tamsin, get in the car."

The blonde didn't take her eyes off Bo as she walked around to the passenger side of the car. Bo let out a sigh as Tamsin climbed in.

"This doesn't mean we're friends." Tamsin said as Bo started the car.

"Of course not…" Bo replied with a small smile.

x-x-x

Bo followed the directions that Tamsin had given her, they ended up outside a bar.

"You work here?" Bo asked.

"Five nights a week," Tamsin replied, "by law I'm too young, but Jeff is an okay guy, he knows that I need this job…"

"What are your other two jobs?" Bo asked, curious.

"I work at a diner from 5am until 7:30 in the mornings, then I go to school," Tamsin replied, not really knowing why she was telling the other girl this, "then four evenings a week I work at the hospital for a few hours before I have to be here…"

"A hospital?" Bo asked, "Doing what?"

"Transferring the dead bodies from the ward to the morgue." Tamsin said, "It's not the most social of jobs, but it pays well…"

She opened the door.

"Thanks for the lift…" she said as she moved to get out of the car.

"What time do you get off?" Bo asked.

"Late." Tamsin replied, "I'll see you tomorrow at school…"

Bo sat and watched as Tamsin walked into the bar. She really had no idea why she was so hell-bent on helping this girl, but she knew that she had to do it.


End file.
